Movie and Book Reviews
Mr. Bill comments on what he's been viewing and reading
Movies:    updated as of:  Wednesday, 28 November 2007:

" the Lake House " - 2006 - Keneau Reeves and Sandra Bullock  both star in this 'love story' where the main characters are, though having never met, theoretically in love, and can not meet because he's in 2004 and she's in 2006, and - well - it's not an 'action thriller' (like they made in Speed or Speed 2 - but it is definitely an opportunity for both these people to show what they can do in a more 'dramatic role' - the movie definitely yields a great entertainment evening if you can discount the obvious time-travel-twist...

 " Islands in the Stream " - (originally done in 1977, book published in the 1960s)  An older movie with George C. Scott as the main character, metal-sculputor Thomas Hudson.  Follows Hudson (Scott) as a sculptor, as a father, and as a 'refugee' from World War II as he attempts to help-out some passengers from a fellow captain's boat, sunk by a German submarine.   This helping-others ultimately gets him (and some of his mates) killed... This is the Movie review - I also recently re-read the book - see Book Review below...

"The Perfect Storm" (2000) - starring George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, etc. (amongst others).   This excellent movie - from the book (by Sebastian Junger) of the same name still leaves one awe-inspired by the total control the environment has over our lives.  It covers a fishing-trip of the swordfish-long-liner boat "Andrea Gail" (amongst other sub-plots) in their fall 1991 voyage from which they never returned (boat nor crew).  I, like others had read the book but had not (that I remember) seen the movie - so it was good to see it. 

" Shanghai Surprise " - This (1986)  movie gets it's name, strangely enough, from a form of 'money-belt' - go figger - anyway - has Sean Penn and Madonna (who at the time the movie was made they had just been married) - so it's eye-candy

- She's a missonary (with a shady background)  and he's basically a sleezeball American (aren't we all, especially when overseas) - who's trying to get out of Shanghai back to America.   They team-up - again interestingly enough, to get-at some opium because opium in turn-of-the-century Shanghai is the source of all wealth and funds and such...  

- As movies go it is 'not bad';  but I perceive it could have been much better...   It's a bit drawn-out, but the 'plot thickens' several times as they are on the 'trail' of the opium they are after.  Many shady characters get involved, and it's actually good entertainment if several pre-conceived notions are put on hold...  The movie has listings (though short) in both Wikipedia and IMDB

(adapted from the book "Faraday's Flowers"(1985 (ISBN: 03851 90883)) by: Tony Kenrick (which I have NOT been able to find at any of the libraries when I am a member).   You can search for the book at both Amazon and via Barnes & Noble or buy it used at "Better World Books" (used).


"The Prestige" - Wikipedia link; based on the premise that in any 'magic trick' there are three parts: "the Pledge" - (where the magician shows the audience something common),  "the Turn" (where the magician does something 'extraordinary with the common object' (like makes something disappear)  and "the Prestige" (the 'closing / finishing' of the magic trick) - anyway - this movie is 'about' (amongst other things) two magicians who are 'in competition' with each other in early England.  It stars Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Scarlett Joahnsson, David Bowie (As scientist Tesla) amongst others...   Most of these actors are fairly well-known. 

Ms. Johansson starred in the movie, "The Island" (2005) - recently reviewed here, on our web-site, also...

This movie about magicians is based on the 1995 book of the same name by Christopher Priest.
A book I will attempt to find and read...



"Touching the Void" (an IMDB link) - an AWESOME movie - and it is really really rare that I like a movie this much.   I didn't get up from the chair a SINGLE TIME - I watched this one ALL the way through... .... ...  This is based on the true-story of two UK based climbers (Joe Simpson, and Simon Yates ( Simon's is a Wikipedia link - he, too, has written some books)) who attempted to climb a previously un-climbed mountain called "Siula (or some spell it Suila) Grande" in Peru.   IN actuality they DID CLIMB IT - They REACHED the SUMMIT but the 'adventure' was on their way back down that things (unexpected) happened.     Unlike MANY climbing films - BOTH of the people involved lived to tell  (and write) - and their 'input' to the movie and the story and such is VERY valuable.  Rather than just making an 'exciting movie' based on a true-story these guys went with the film-crew after one of them had written a book. I think that of the many 'mountain-adventure' movies that have been made this one is definitely the best in terms of realism and in terms of story-line.   I think, also, that unlike on MANY DVDs we watch - the 'extra' stuff on this DVD is definitely worth watching!...   IF you're going to do a 'Google Earth' search the 'Siula Grande' spelling is the correct one - and it shows the mountain in all it's snowy glory.. - it's a VERY REMOTE place!

some others - of little note - (especially when compared to "Touching the Void"...

The Punisher - (Wikipedia Link) -  Tom Jane / John Travolta / Rebecca Romijn - 2003 - based on the Marvel Comics character - it's basically what 'made' the "Punisher" into what he is - how his character 'got it's start... - Lots of blood, violence, explosions - a 'typical' American movie and plot-line - all about 'revenge' of sorts.

Suspect Zero - Aaron Eckhart, Ben Kingsley, Carrie-Anne Moss: a 'serial killer' (Kingsley?) 'taunts' Eckhart and Moss's  character(s) -  based on the premise that the US Government has trained Kingsley's character to mentally understand serial killer(s) - has he, actually, now turned into one ? - we'll let the viewer decide?

Magma - Volcanic Disaster - (Sony-Pictures DVD link) starring:  Xander Berkeley / Amy Jo Johnson - 2005 - realistic geology & vulcanology with hokey graphics, but moderately decent script - if you give-up on the hokey graphics and recognize that the 'premise' upon which the concept in the movie-script is based - it's actually not 'too' bad?


"Spy Game" - this 2001-2002 movie with Robert Redford, Brad Pitt, and Catherine McCormack (who's role is small but very important), I'd seen before, but it was very valuable to see again.  A LOT of times I see something once and I have 'questions' - but this time I understood more - and there are 'alternate scenes and endings' on the DVD which help further explain things... VERY good movie - even if one has seen it before

"Out of Time" - this Denzel Washington movie stars him as a small-town-(South-Florida) police chief who gets involved in what appear (at first glance) to be a whole bunch of 'situations' that he can't get out of.  But with the help of his medical examiner friend as well as his almost-ex-wife manages - right at the (surprise) ending to extricate himself with grace and aplomb... - VERY good view and very good entertaintment.  It brings out the South Florida arena similar to John D. MacDonald and Carl Hiaasen (authors)  but with a bit different flavour. - VERY Enjoyable


"Chasing_Freedom" starring _Juliette_Lewis_ and _Layla_Alizada_   directed by Don_McBrearty, 2004

the first (that I watched) is about an Afghan woman who comes to America to seek political asylum and her trials and tribulations (and those of her female lawyer) in working the 'asylum law' nightmare and what it throws at her / them - and their ultimate success within the 'system'....   To those of us who have never faced this obstacle - seeking asylum, this story really outlines some of the pitfalls and hoops one has to jump through.  I'm sure the situation is even worse, since the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Centers in New York.   It is, though, gut-wrenching in the realistic presentation of some of the antiquated views towards women

"Chasing_Liberty" starring _Mandy_Moore_ (as the president's daughter "Anna" (code-named "Liberty") and Matthew_Goode as a secret service agent posing as a photographer) - this is the typical "how does one protect the president's teen-daughter in Europe" movie - no surprises at the 'model' behind the story-line.  Some ExtraOrdinary footage and visuals of their travels in and around European cities, many of which Ms._May and I were able to visit when we lived in Paris for a short while.  The bottom-line is a love-story that ends extraordinarily and remarkably positively.

Book Reviews:

Books, books, books, I seem to be going through books at an amazing rate (about 1-2 a day), lately (perhaps because I'm not doing enough:
 So - there's a way to stop this foolishness - I have a book that I wrote about 30,000 words of about 10 years ago - so I've decided to quit reading and start writing again. - We'll see how far I get - I need to re-focus on both the outline and filling-in the chapters - but I have some goals:
updates as of:  Wednesday, 28 November 2007:'

the Cult of the Amateur  - how today's internet is killing our culture - by: Andrew Keen (2007)  (ISBN: 978-0-385-52080-5) - this book (authored by a previously very successful music-sharing-web-site-company) is all about exactly what the sub-title says:  How today's internet culture (and amateurs purporting news, music, and information (Wikipedia, YouTube, etc.) where - in the past - we had 'professional' journalist(s) and others (like paid authors / editors at Britanica)... - the author is VERY NEGATIVE about today's internet and how it promotes people wanting to read about what OTHERS read about not read about NEW information.   It believes that by the year 2010 we'll have about 50 MILLION blogs and that NO ONE human being can read even a miniscule percentage of those blogs - so why / how / etc. have them??? -


" Islands in the Stream " - Ernest Hemingway - (published in the 60's - recently re-printed) - as noted above (about the movie) the   book roughly parallels Hemingway's life in Key West (the book and the movie are both set in the Bahamas, but neither are specific about WHERE in the Bahamas... - both the book and the movie follow the life of the fictional Thomas Hudson - a metal sculptor / ex-painter / married and divorced twice and the father of 3 boys (who ultimately visit him in his tropical paradise home-studio.  A LOT of the book and the movie take-place on the water - in / on his antique (from the view of the 21st century) boat, fishing and other sea-borne activities...  - EXCELLENT book / movie - good to read-again after so many years...

"The Missing Manual - iPhone: - by: David Pogue - 2008 -  O'ReillyPress  This book is much better than the one listed below - but - then -  it's a month later, also - there are several at Barnes and Noble and this one is most-probably the best - it's got color pictures - some that others don't - but it also has more in-depth sections than the "Rough Guide" - However, the Rough Guide is of a 'form factor' (SMALL - as in Tiny) physically that you could fit it in a shoulder bag or a purse, but the Missing Manual is physically much bigger...

ALSO, these days:

" Cisco Networking Simplified " by Maggiora, Doherty and Clement - 2003 - (ISBN: 1 - 58720 - 074 - 0)  The "Cisco Press" makes this nifty book about networking (and all the various & sundry technologies that networking now depends on, for the 'faint-of-heart' - the 'suits' - the 'un-initiated... Makes everything EASY to understand and learn from - very very VERY good book...

AND: 

" We the Living " a 'classic' by Ayn Rand - 1936, 1959, etc. - (ISBN: 0-451-1878409) - Penguin - a classic by a classic author. This book is about a 'couple' in 1930s-1960s era Russia and the 'opressiveness' of the communist regime... - VERY Goood Reading.


Another by: Brad Meltzer - " The Millionaires "  2002 - (ISBN: 0-446-61192-1)  only 'just' getting into this one - very powerfully exciting and interesting - more later - here...


The Rough Guide to the iPhone: - by: Buckley and Clark (2007) ISBN 9781843539247  -  Ms. May found this in the "New" books section in our local library, and got it for me.   My sister bought me an iPhone back in September, and this book is very good.  However, it does spend 'quite some time' going through iTunes - but one has to realize that the iPhone is pretty useless without iTunes - so the text and pictures and 'tid-bits' about iTunes are well worth the time -  A little-tiny book you can most probably plow through it, easily, in one short evening!  - IF you do NOT have an " iPhone " yet - you should get one - this is defintely tomorrow's technology, today...


Principles of 3D Computer Animation and Rendering   by: Michael O'Rourke (2002) ISBN 9780393730838 - this book is basically (I think) a 'text-book' in this subject area.  I am, at best, an 'amateur' at the 3D thing (I have several pieces of software, and I know some of the concepts but I am by no means a genius) bu this book REALLY spells-out some of the mathematical details and the 'conceptual underpinings of both animation and rendering.   Rendering is what I'm most interested in right now - and in particular 'mapping of materials' - that is the technical part of putting a 'texture' (like a brick-work or a stucco) on the outside of a building that you've modeled in 3D.  There is other excellent treatment in this book of the 'virtual walk-through' of a house (or building or boat, or whatever?) - anyway - I've had this same book from the library before - but each time I read a different group of chapters and they always seem to make sense - I think a good treatment of the subject matter - and not too mcuh math - (no differentials or integrals!)




Wireless Nation: the frenzied launch of the Cellular Revolution (in the USA): - by James B. Murray and Lisa Dickey - (200) ISBN: 9780738206882... - EXCELLENT book if you want names (mostly) about the begining days of the cellular industry in the USA - focuses a LOT on Craig McCaw and claims that Bell Labs 'invented' the technology.   It focuses VERY LITTLE on the 'technology' (which - of course, as an ex-Motorolan I have to say Motorola invented the technology...  However, it is still worth the time to read it. There is also a very interesting focus on how the FCC 'squandered' bandwidth and frequency license fees in a very big way during the early days.  In the last chapter of the book they talk a lot about how the cellular industry is rapidly running-up-agains a very big brick-wall in terms of network / RF bandwidth - this part is very interesting...



Stuart Woods:  I've read about eight of Stuart Woods books' in the past 6-8 weeks, and they are all good mystery / murder / who-dun-it thrillers - that literally don't tie-up loose-ends until the last 3-5 pages of the book - BUT you can NOT 'skip ahead' to find the ending; you need to understand everything else in the books.   The author has several 'main' characters:  Holly, Stone, etc. and each set of books / series specializes in those 'main' characters.  But there is interaction both within the books / series and between the books / series as to the main characters...

Some of the works of Stuart Woods that I have read are:
 I've put a couple more on hold at the library, so - by this time next month - I'll be up to 10 or a dozen or so - I think he's written almost 30 books....

" The Fourth Order " (by: Stephen Frey / ISBN: 97803 45480644      / copyright 2007) this book is about the 'Fourth Order' - a group of USA-domestic based 'spies' who abduct people from various places and have no 'responsibility' to keep them alive but to interrogate them and extract information about the victims attempts to plan and execute terrorist attacks on the USA's domestic / continental land-mass.... - VERY sort of "What IF this is HAPPENING right now in the USA? - really makes one THINK!


" Dangerous Games " (by: Michael Prescott / ISBN: 0-451-41169-2 / copyright 2005) - this book is about a 'serial killer' in Los Angeles (who takes his victims into the underground water-courses / caves / tunnels before a rain-squall and lets them drown, and asks for money from the City of Los Angeles (who pays))... - ANYWAY _ it has two stong women in key-roles, Tess (an FBI agent) and Abby (a PI / vigilante)... VERY interesting & enjoyable ...

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Two 'Ocean-Combat' books by: James H. Cobb - who's obvious connection with Navy boats / ships / combat techniques really shines-through in his books - about a Naval leader named Amanda...

" Target Lock " - ISBN: ??? - about chasing around the pirate element in / around the Singapore / Malacca Straits area (very near Hong Kong where I used to live. - About how the US Navy attempts to beat-out the pirates - nearly at their own game with superior firepower and intelligence and how they nearly come to blows with the Indonesian government (amongst others) as a result of being in the wrong place at the wrong time and being 'found-out'?...  HOWEVER _ a VERY GOOD Book about open-sea and littoral warfare techniques and tactics...

" Seafighter " ISBN 9780515129823 - copyright 2000  about 'Littoral Warfare' (shallow-water (which the US-Navy is "Just" getting into (with new ships and techniques (this book is about ACV (Air Cushion Vehicles) and their particular characteristics in a ware fought off (and on) the west-coast of Africa

" Seastrike " ISBN: 9780425166161 - copyright  1999 - about both blue-water and littoral warfare off and on the coast of China - very engaging - and I 'thought' a lot more exciting than the above book - which seemed to 'drag-on' forever....

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Some books by "Harlan Coben":  who is an investment guru and writes a lot of his stuff about the investment / finance business...

" Promise Me " (ISBN: 97804512192440 - copyright 2007) - about a lady who goes to the photo-finisher and finds a picture in her packet of vacation prints that is not really hers - her husband has also disappeared - Hmmm...

" Just One Look " (ISBN: 97804 5121 3204 - copyright 2005) about a lady who goes to the photo-finisher and finds a picture in her packet of vacation prints that is not really hers - her husband has also disappeared - Hmmm...

" The Innocent " (ISBN: 97804 5121 5772 - copyright 2006) - about a guy (lawyer type)  who gets into a fraternity fight when in college and accidentally kills a guy - does his time - then works for his brother's law-firm as a 'fixer' (much like the current movie with George Clooney)... - anyway - VERY interesting...

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a NEW BOOK by one of my favourite authors:

Ms. Elizabeth Moon's 'newerestest' book is " Command Decision "  (ISBN: 97803 4549 1596 - copyright 2007) - this is a continuation of the 'Vatta War' series wherein the heroine / leader is Kylara Vatta and here trials, tribulations, battles, and challenges continue.  However, I feel the 'character' has matured significantly in this book and the psychological challenges are in the  heroine's mind more than the space-battles.  The challenges that must be there for her to support her space-battles - a lot more 'What IFs' than before - and I really enjoy this...

another Elizabeth Moon, 2007 book is " Moon Flights " - which I have not, yet, read, but am looking for, now...

She has even a newer book - due-out in February 2008 - which will be  " Victory Conditions " - (ISBN: 97803 4549 1619)

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"  The Zero Game " (by: Brad Meltzer - 2004 - ISBN: 70993 00799)  This book is an AWESOME treatment of how 'hokey' things can get in and around the political machine that is Washington, D.C..  It is 'about' a 'game' (gambling, actually) by 'staffers' that goes very very wrong.  Four people get dead, a senior staffer and his tall, black, 17 year old female page tag-along appropriate an airplane, go 8,000 feet down in an almost abandoned gold mine in South Dakota, and get almost nailed (several times - (terribly severely) by a whacko named Janos, who  "belongs in a cage" (one of the book's characters says this)... - Anyway - this author Brad Meltzer has some interesting tidbits about how Washington works, some interesting tid-bits about architecture and about science and about some other things (like the Yemeni_Government) all of which come in to play in one way or the other to make a VERY VERY VERY interesting / edge of your seat / got to finish this thing before dinner book - W

OW what an exciting book!  I will definitely seek-out some other books from the same author!

" Paris 2005 " - this book (by: Carlo Zezza (1990; Ivy Books; ISBN: 0-8041-0666-5) basically talks about (amongst other things (like mother's attachments to their kids, some love-stories and so-on) the "National Computer" of France, and how, after the Russians take-over one programmer / computer-manager manages to use it against the Russians (amongst others) to 'block' this, that, the other thing - There is a nagging-thing, going-on though that the use of 'cash-card' which is so predominant in the book is not something that surfaces a 'weakness' in the system? - if you cut the telecomm lines - then cash-cards don't work - but - well - it's a book - what do you expect - It is - though - a heck of a statement of how an entire country can be shut-down by one person working with the right computer hardware and software....

" The Prestige " (by: Christopher Priest) - see movie (by the same name) review above - this book is about the same subject, but the ending is much different (as are some of the 'details') - however, the bottom-line is you need both the book and the movie to really understand the 'struggle' these two had with each other... Further - the book's title addresses a different meaning for the phrase  " The Prestige " than does the meaning in the movie-title... - in any case the book is just as good as the movie but in a different way - took me less than a day to read this - and it is pretty darned good!

" Internal Combustion " this book, is sub-titled:  "How corporations and governments addicted the world to oil and derailed the alternatives"  - copyright 2006 - by: Edwin Black   It has a LOT of information in it - but one of the most stunning revelations is about how we now have 'mostly' a gasoline / diesel  engine society (world-wide) instead of an electric  car society and it is mostly because of:

a.) lawyers
b.) the 'potential profit' for the Electric Vehicle people was from protecting patents than from making electric cars
c.) 'society' felt that to have and to own a 'car' meant pollution and exhaust-fumes and noise and breakdowns
d.) and in a smaller-way the 'waste' from massive numbers of horses in urban-areas created a 'clean-up' problem

To read the WHOLE BOOK takes 'quite some time' but the bottom-line-here is that we are now a petroleum based world simply because of the above reason(s) and there is / are about 400 pages here but the 'key' is the above item(s)...



" Eniac "(1999 - (Walker & Company - New York)) by Scott McCartney - about the two people (Mauchly and Eckert) who 'created' the first digital-computer at the University of Pennsylvania in 1941.    Not a bad book, a little slow reading - but not very long - probably only for the comp-u-geeks amongst us (yes - I'm one of those!).



"The Spirit Team" by: Walter Wager  1996 - a very very interesting, if new and different approach to the 'spy-novel' - about a group of people (the Spirit Team) - who are all 'legally dead' - but they work for an arm of the US-CIA... - Interesting & engaging, if a bit slow in the begining...


"Tunnel" - from the same author - about a potential terrosit attack on the "Lincoln Tunnel" in New York - so that's where the title "Tunnel" comes from - excellent book - some very interesting 'preparation' and 'potentials for failue' information!


"Telefon": the 'book' from which the ANCIENT movie Telefon (1977) was made.   This movie is based on the premise there were  sleeping 'agents' of the USSR in the USA during the cold war.  The Telefon name comes from they are supposed to receive a telephone call, and listen to a Robert Frost poem (Stopping by the snowy river) line (Miles to go before I sleep) - to 'awaken' them from 'sleeping' - and then blow-up certain USA-based military installations. - The movie starred Charles Bronson, Lee Remick, Donald Pleasence, Tyne Daly, amongst others...

I'm 'attempting' to change this web-site / web-page(s) to a more 'modern' format - something based on "CSS" (Cascading Style Sheets).... - I've used these two books to get a 'start' at this form / format to modify my web-page / web-site...

HTML   by: Paul Whitehead and James H. Russell - 2005

Designing CSS Web Pages    by: Christopher Schmitt - 2002

last updated:   17:55 p.m.  on Wednesday, 28 November, 2007rga;    revID: 1m